Apparatus for submarine work



A. B. HANSEN. APPARATUS FOR SUBMARINE WORK. APPLICATION FILED APR.14,1920.

l ,425,47 l Patented Aug. 8, 1922 Ii ul .11' n u H N A TTOH/VEVS .ARTHURB. HANSEN, OF NEW' YORK, N. Y.

Application area april 14, le20.

To aZZ whom I? may concern.'

Be it known that I, ARTHUR B. HANSEN, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of the city of New York, borough of Manhattan, and countyand State of New York, have invented a new and improved Apparatus forSubmarine iWork, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription.

This invention relates to an apparatus for submarine work.

While many devices of this character have been proposed, they have beenfound objectionable and impractical due to the complex and complicatednature of their construction and operation.

The primary object therefor of the present invention is to provide anapparatus of this character which is simple in its construction,effective in purpose and readily operable by persons of ordinaryintelligence and mechanical ability.

Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus which isdesigned primarily to form an important element of a ships complementwhich is capable of use in cleaning or repairing submerged portions ofthe hull, without resorting to the use of expensive diving apparatus.

The device is also especially useful on oil tankers where it isnecessary for a man to descend into the filled tanks to repair brokenpipe connections or work of a similar nature.

further object of the invention is to provide a device of the characterdescribed which permits of ready communication between the submergedworkman and others at the surface.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus ofthe character described which is so constructed as to render ingress andegress therefrom an extremely simple and expeditious operation.

`With the above recited and other objects in view, some of which will bemore readily apparent hereafter, reference is made to the followingdescription and claims and the accompanying drawings which form a partof the application.

In the drawings;

Figure 1 is a transverse sectional view through the hull of a vesselillustrating the use and application of the device.

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary side Specification of Letterslatent.

Patented Aug. 8, 1922. Serial No. 373,752.

view thereof with parts in section to disclose the underlying structure.

Figure is a front elevation ofthe same.

Figure l is a transverse sectional view through the apparatus takenapproximately on the line 1 4 of Figure 2.

.Figure 5 is a fragmentary enlarged sectional view of the upper portionof the flexible extension.

Referring to the drawings by characters of reference which denote likeparts throughout the several views thereof, H represents the hull of avessel and l) a davit from which the apparatus illustrated is designedto be suspended. The apparatus includes a waterproof suit 10 constructedof canvas, rubberized cloth or any other vsuitable waterproof materialwhich `is flexible. The suit 10 is provided with legs 11 and feet 12which are preferably weighted for the purpose of readily effectingsubmersion. The suit is further provided with arms 13 and the bodyportion 14 of the suit is formed with an upper open tubular collar 15.The collar 15 which houses the head of the workman when in the suit isprovided with a sight opening covered by a transparent panel 16. Securedto the upper open end of the collar or formed as a continuation thereofis a tubular extension 17 which is also constructed of flexiblewaterproof material. The said extension 17 is of a sufiicient length toreach from the bot-tom of the hull to the deck of the vessel. ln orderto hold the extension 17 extended when submerged, the same is providedwith a plurality of vertically spaced rigid annular members 18 securedto the interior thereof. The extreme upper and lower members 18 areconnected by the cables 19 secured thereto at diametrically opposedpoints. The remaining members 18 are provided with eyes 2O atdiametrically opposed points on their inner peripheries, through whichthe cables 19 are passed to reduce the possibility of twisting of theextension to a minimui The cables 19 also serve to prevent stretching ofthe eX- tension and assist in bearing the strain of the workmans weighton the extension. A hoisting cable 21 is attached to a bail or harness22 secured to the upper member 18 and said cable 21 is designed to bepassed over a pulley on the davit or other suitable supporting member.

In order to provide means for retaining the workman stationary withrelation to his worlr when submerged, an auxiliary supporting `andsteadying cable 23 is provided which is attached to a belt 2li embracingthe body portion lll of the suit 10, the opposite ends oi? the cablerespectively leading up to a pulley on the davit and around under thehull where the extreme end is made fast to a cleat on the opposite sideof the deck.

From the foregoing construction it will be seen that the upperopen endoi?` the eX- tension is designed to be arranged alongside the deck inorder that communication may be had with the submerged workman to `giveproper instructions and receive orders as the case may be.

While the'device is especially adaptedand intended for submarine work,no limitation is made to this use nor to the precise de tails olconstruction exhibited, but it is to be understood that such changes andalterz tions as 'fall within the 'scope of the ap` pended claim may beresorted to when found expedient.

Having thus described my invention, what limiting the relativeseparation of said upper and lowerinost braces whereby the weight of thesuit and diver is supported by the flexible connection, the intermediatebraces having eyes through which said connection is trained to preventrelative twisting ofthe braces and the extension, a belt secured aroundthe intermediate portion 0i' the suit, and a forwardly presented eyecarried by the belt adapted to receive the intermediate portion of anadjustable hauling line.

ARTHUR B. HANSEN.

